Clyde D Taylor

Clyde Taylor knew it would be more than just another diplomatic reception when a policeman poked him in the chest and demanded to see identification. Taylor was admitted to what was billed as a dinner party for 300 sponsored by a group called "Women for Democracy" at an uptown private home. Most of the other silk-stocking guests were turned away. Accustomed to command, they jostled in fury behind a police cordon. For want of better inspiration, they sang a protest "Happy Birthday."

Clyde Taylor knew it would be more than just another diplomatic reception when a policeman poked him in the chest and demanded to see identification. Taylor was admitted to what was billed as a dinner party for 300 sponsored by a group called "Women for Democracy" at an uptown private home. Most of the other silk-stocking guests were turned away. Accustomed to command, they jostled in fury behind a police cordon. For want of better inspiration, they sang a protest "Happy Birthday."

U.S. Ambassador Clyde D. Taylor Jr. has been accused of interfering in Paraguay's internal affairs, and a senior official of the ruling Colorado Party said he may be expelled for allegedly attempting to bring down the government of President Alfredo Stroessner. "We are warning this diplomat that if he persists in his keenness to bring down Stroessner's government, his days in our glorious Paraguay are numbered," said Modesto Esquivel, a member of the party's governing board. The U.S.

Police blocked guests on their way to a pro-democracy reception honoring U.S. Ambassador Clyde D. Taylor and lobbed tear gas into the midst of the garden festivities, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday. Taylor, who has repeatedly clashed with President Alfredo Stroessner's government, later left the site under escort of U.S. security personnel. The crowd dispersed, and there were no arrests or serious injuries reported.

For the first time in recent memory, President Alfredo Stroessner is being openly challenged here from many sides by opponents who demand a negotiated transition to democratic rule. Growing protest has left the government disconcerted and defensive. Stroessner, a stiff-necked army general who is one of the world's most durable dictators, is responding with clubs. Three times in recent weeks truncheon-swinging police have broken up peaceful street demonstrations.

Opposition politician Miguel Abdon Saguier was jailed for 24 hours last month after leading a protest march. He was not charged with any offense, and when he went home, a watcher went with him. The watcher, an earnest young man in a blue uniform, stood in the rain across the street from Saguier's suburban home and took down in his notebook the license numbers of arriving cars. To Paraguayans, the watcher is a neighborhood fixture as unremarkable as a lamppost. Gen.